STERLING — The Rochelle wrestling program split its three-team meet with the Marengo Indians and Sterling Golden Warriors on the road Wednesday at the Musgrove Fieldhouse.

Rochelle opened the meet with a 45-36 victory over Marengo. The Hubs scored the first 12 points of the match, with Reese Kirk receiving a forfeit in the 152-pound bout and senior Zeke Horn needing only 46 seconds to win by fall over Dylan Stolz in the 160-pound bout. Juniors Ben Harvey and Noah Messer recorded second-period pins over Eddie Solis and Jack Heinberg in the 182 and 195-pound matchups to give Rochelle a 24-6 lead over the first five bouts.

“Noah’s at a weight where we have some pretty successful wrestlers, but we’re trying to find spots in the lineup for him,” head coach Alphonso Vruno said. “He showed up tonight and wrestled hard. He’s doing all of the right things, and he got us some huge team points tonight.”

Senior Gavin Ansteth went up a class and edged out Michael Macias 6-4 in the 220-pound bout, scoring a late takedown in the third period to seal the win. Senior Zack Capes followed Horn’s 47-second pin with a 48-second pin against Mason Feldt in the 285-pound bout. Marengo held a temporary lead after winning the 106-pound bout by fall and earning forfeits across four weights including 113, 120, 126 and 132 and going ahead 36-33.

Needing two victories to close out the dual, 138-pounder Grant Thompson and 145-pounder Ethan Tooley delivered for the Hubs, recording first-period pins to ice the team victory.

Sterling

Rochelle faced the Golden Warriors in the final dual of the evening, falling 43-24 and moving to 17-4 on the season with the Interstate 8 Conference Championship this weekend. The match featured several thrilling bouts including the 170-pound matchup, where Nick Simister slipped past senior Bryan Garza 3-1 with a takedown in overtime. Noah Messer and Ben Harvey answered with back-to-back pins at 182 and 195 to give Rochelle a 12-3 advantage.

Sterling’s Jason Farnham and Cade Lyons claimed the 220 and 285-pound bouts, with Farnham topping Gavin Ansteth 7-0 and Lyons pinning Zack Capes in the second period. Junior Ivan Pineda scored a key win to keep Rochelle in the dual, holding off Sterling’s Karson Strohmayer 1-0 in the 106-pound bout on a second-period escape.

“Ivan’s always been decent on his feet, but he’s really stepped up this year,” Vruno said. “He stays in a good position and he’s defending shots well. He’s getting to his snap-downs and his shots more often. He rode that kid for a long time by staying in a good position. I’m really proud of how he wrestled in that match.”

Sterling received forfeits at 113 and 120 while Rochelle’s Wesley Brown took a forfeit in the 126-pound bout to set up an intense match between Drew Kested and sophomore Caleb Nadig. Wrestling up a class, Nadig managed to secure a 3-1 lead entering the third period, but Kested rallied with two takedowns across the third period and overtime for a 5-3 sudden victory.

Brayden Porter and Mauricio Garcia won the 138 and 145-pound bouts to put the Golden Warriors ahead 37-21 and seal the dual. Zeke Horn fought for a 3-2 win against Julian Rodriguez in the 152-pound bout before Sterling’s Kolten Smith pinned Diego Escobar at 160.

“Zeke has unquestionable loyalty,” head coach Alphonso Vruno said. “He cut down to 152 for us earlier in the season, but we had a string of matches where Diego [Escobar] was hurt and it was better for the team to wrestling him up at 160… He hasn’t complained one time, and it was nice to see him wrestle well tonight.”